Contents

• 9 January 2023: Tether states it brings financial freedom to Nigeria
• 6 January 2023: Tether’s CTO wants more education around USDT in EMs for 2023
• 3 January 2023: Japan to lift ban on foreign-issued stablecoins

Tether (USDT) has announced that Tether Gold (XAUT) is now listed on ICRYPEX.

ICRYPEX is a Turkish crypto exchange and Tether Gold is a digital token backed by physical gold.

XAUT is only available in Turkey through ICRYPEX.

As of 08:22 GMT on 10 January, USDT was trading at $1, which is the same price it held yesterday, according to CoinMarketCap.

9 January 2023: Tether states it brings financial freedom to Nigeria

Tether (USDT) has claimed it is helping to bring financial freedom to Nigeria via Twitter. 

In the video, Linda Obi, a Nigerian businesswoman and open internet advocate, said: “It is a no brainer why I choose Tether, because of the stability and the fluidity that it presents. Tether has helped my business grow.” Obi added that she accepts USDT payments in store as it is easy to convert.

Gbemisola Williams, a research assistant at Techonomy Africa, which states it is building Africa’s blockchain technology and crypto education, said: “Tether makes my life a lot easier, because it lets me transact anywhere globally much more easier and faster with lower fees.”

Victoria Ugbedeojo, CEO and co-founder of Deftify, a multi-chain decentralised finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) platform, said: “Saving in Tether has been one thing we are happy about because it helps us beat the entire Nigerian inflation and gives us more value for our money.”

As of 08:26 GMT on 9 January, USDT was trading at $1, up by 0.01% compared with the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.   

6 January 2023: Tether’s CTO wants more education around USDT in EMs for 2023

More education about  the USDT stablecoin, Tether Gold (XAUT) and Bitcoin (BTC) in 2023 is being called for by the chief technology officer of  Tether, Paolo Ardoino.

Tether Gold is a digital token backed by physical gold. USDT is Tether’s stablecoin.

Ardoino said via Twitter that there needed to be more education around USDT, XAUT and BTC in emerging markets (EMs) and developing countries.

As of 08:24 GMT on 6 January, USDT was trading at $0.99, down by 0.01% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.

3 January 2023: Japan to lift ban on foreign-issued stablecoins

Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA) has announced it will lift the ban on the domestic distribution of foreign issued stablecoins, such as Tether (USDT) later in 2023.

The FSA also said that the move will mean more regulations related to Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls in Japan.

As of 08:44 GMT on 3 January, USDT was trading at $0.99, up by 0.01% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.

23 December 2022: Tether to hold second Plan B Forum in Lugano

Tether (USDT) has announced the second Plan B Forum in Lugano, after what it said was the “massively successful, first-ever Plan B forum”, which attracted nearly 2,000 attendees.

Lugano is a city in southern Switzerland and the second Lugano Plan B Forum will run from 20 to 21 October 2023.

Michele Foletti, Mayor of Lugano said: “It was an honour to welcome so many great speakers and guests from across the world to our city just a few weeks ago, and we are thrilled to host the second Plan B forum in October 2023. People everywhere are becoming more interested in learning about how financial democratization can make their lives better, and I’m thrilled that our innovative city of Lugano can facilitate such important learning and conversations to happen.”

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether, said: “The first-ever Plan B forum was a massive success that blew all expectations out of the water, and we are so excited to do it again in 2023. We had so many incredible speakers and attendees, who sparked important discussions about the adoption of Bitcoin, and I look forward to building out the programme for an even bigger and better Plan B forum next year.”

As of 08:31 GMT on 23 December, USDT was trading at $1, down by 0.01% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.

14 December 2022: Tether says it has proven its ‘resilience’

Tether (USDT) has declared that it has proved its “resilience” by enduring “eight years of the industry’s tumultuous markets”.

The stablecoin said that “unlike countless parties that have gone bankrupt or are facing bankruptcy risks on the back of widespread fraud, leverage and bad risk management, Tether has prioritised transparency, accountability and operational excellence above all else.” 

During 2022, numerous crypto firms have gone bankrupt, most notably FTX, the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange which announced it was filing for bankruptcy on 11 November 2022.

Tether said it wished to “restore faith in the market” after a challenging year for crypto.  

As for 08:25 GMT on 14 December, USDT was trading at $1, up by 0.03% compared to the previous day according to CoinMarketCap.

13 December 2022: Tether calls Coinbase USDT/USDC offer ‘wildly inappropriate’

Tether (USDT) has called Coinbase’s call for customers to switch from USDT to its own USD Coin (USDC) as it waives conversion fees “wildly inappropriate”.   

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, co-founded USDC in 2018. The crypto exchange said it was offering the fee-free swap as it believed USDC was a “trusted and reputable stablecoin”.

Coinbase also believes that such recent events as FTX filing for bankruptcy on 11 November 2022 has “put some stablecoins to the test”.

A spokesperson from Tether told CoinTelegraph “This wildly inappropriate offering from Coinbase demonstrates the desperation of USDC during a time in which its market cap has suffered immensely, with a loss of $12bn in three months. This isn’t an honest competitive rivalry. This is a sad and desperate attempt from a company that is clearly suffering. The general conclusion on Twitter in response to their announcement, is that this is a move borne out of desperation. As for Tether, we believe lower fees are always better for the customer.”

As of 08:07 GMT on 13 December, USDT was trading at $1 up by 0.02% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.

7 December 2022: Tether offshore Chinese Yuan launches on Tron

Tether (USDT) has announced the availability of customer deposits and withdrawals in its Tether token pegged to the offshore Chinese Yuan (CNHT) on Tron, a decentralised, open-source blockchain-based operating system.

This now means CNHT is now available not only on the Ethereum blockchain but also Tron’s. CNHT was created in 2019.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether said: “We’re excited to bring CNHT to the Tron ecosystem. At a time when the crypto market is experiencing immense turmoil, we believe that the best way forward is to keep building. It’s business as usual at Tether, and we hope our continued growth and expansion will inspire others to keep going as well.”

As of 08:35 GMT on 7 December, USDT was trading at $1, up by 0% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.  

6 December 2022: Tether Gold and Euro Tether to launch on Huobi

Tether (USDT) has announced that Tether Gold (XAUT) and Euro Tether (EURT) will launch on the crypto exchange Huobi Global.  

Tether Gold is a digital token backed by physical gold, and the EURT is a euro-pegged stablecoin.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Tether, said: “We are thrilled to be launching XAUT and EURT on one of the oldest and leading exchanges in the world. By gaining access to the stablecoin that represents ownership of physical gold and the euro-pegged stablecoin that’s backed by the same company behind the first, most stable and trusted stablecoin, we believe the Huobi community will be poised to thrive and continue to grow.”

As of 07:44 GMT on 6 December, USDT was trading at $1, up by 0% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.

1 December 2022: Tether sponsors Cybersecurity Symposium 2022 in Lugano

The stablecoin Tether (USDT) has sponsored the Cybersecurity Symposium 2022 in Lugano, Switzerland.

Other sponsors included the City of Lugano and Franklin University Switzerland.

The symposium took place on 30 November 2022 in Lugano.

As of 08:12 GMT on 1 December, USDT was trading at $0.9999, up by 0.01% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.

25 November 2022: Tether sponsors the Africa Bitcoin Conference

Tether (USDT) is sponsoring the Africa Bitcoin Conference, which runs from 5 -7 December 2022.

The stablecoin said: “Bitcoin is for long-term saving, Tether is for spending and short-term hedging against weak national fiat currencies.”

According to World Bank statistics, 65% of adults in the sub-Saharan Africa region are unbanked. However, 83% of them have a mobile phone.

The stablecoin added that “Tether empowers people to hold the keys to your financial freedom, and to save in a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.”

As of 07:57 GMT on 25 November, USDT was trading at $0.9995, up by 0.02% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.   

23 November 2022: Alameda Research was one of the largest issuers of Tether

Tether (USDT) has stressed that even though one of its stablecoin’s largest issuers, Alameda Research, has filed for bankruptcy, it poses no risk to USDT.

In a statement, the stablecoin added that as all USDT is fully collateralised by Tether’s reserves, every USDT can be redeemed 1:1 with the US dollar (USD).

As Alameda’s reserves are in Tether’s possession, they are not on Alameda’s balance sheet nor is the collateral used to back Alameda’s USDT.  

Sam Bankman-Fried founded both the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX and the quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda, which have both now filed for bankruptcy.

As of 09:21 GMT on 23 November, USDT was trading at $0.999, down by 0.01% compared with the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.   

18 November 2022: Tether CTO tells Wall Street why people use stablecoins

The chief technology officer of Tether (USDT) has addressed the question he said he keeps hearing from Wall Street professionals: why do people use stablecoins when everyone can directly use USD?

Paolo Ardoino said that it was almost like Wall Street bankers “have never spoken to anyone from a developing country.” Ardoino said: “Banks gave up on many communities, billions are unbanked. Tether and Bitcoin are life.”

Ray Youssef, founder of Paxful, a crypto company, said Wall Street executives should listen to a Nigerian, Egyptian or Venezuelan “talk about their everyday challenges transmitting payment or receiving money, and they understand why USDT is so powerful and desperately needed.”  

As of 08:22 GMT on 18 November, USDT was trading at $0.9994, down by 0.01% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.   

11 November 2022: Tether has no ‘plans to invest or lend money’ to FTX

The stablecoin Tether (USDT) has no “plans to invest or lend money” to cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX or quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda Research, both of which were founded by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.    

This is according to Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether.

FTX is now facing bankruptcy after a “significant liquidity crunch”.

As of 08:25 GMT on 11 November, USDT was trading at $1, up by 0.27% compared with the previous day according to CoinMarketCap.

10 November 2022: Tether had no exposure to FTX or Alameda Research

Tether (USDT) has made it clear that the stablecoin has no exposure to cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX or quantitative crypto trading firm Alameda Research, both of which were founded by FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

FTX was going to be bailed out by Binance following a “significant liquidity crunch” that FTX is facing. However, under the terms of the Binance acquisition, it was able to pull out “from the deal at any time”.

Binance did just that 24 hours later as a result of “due diligence”, “latest news reports of mishandled customer funds” and “alleged US agency investigations”.   

In a statement responding to the situation, Tether said: “Regardless of the volatility that this incident may have set off, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are fostering a revolution in financial inclusion, transforming a broken model that doesn’t work in the modern world.”

Tether also detailed how it also has “no credit towards FTX or Alameda Research”.

8 November 2022: Bitcoin is not the only form of digital gold states Tether

Tether (USDT) has stated that Bitcoin (BTC) is not the only form of digital gold, as there is also Tether Gold. 

Tether Gold (XAUT) is a digital token backed by physical gold and the stablecoin stated it was launched “to make physical gold more compatible with the needs and advantages of our digital world.”

Tether, which claims to have invented the concept of a stablecoin, said that XAUT is not in competition with BTC but rather “in competition with the dollar to be the best stablecoin”.

Tether Gold said it “represents a return to the gold standard, as it allows users to easily store, transact, and save in gold. This is further enhanced by the ability to trade it digitally, even against Bitcoin.”

As of 08:21 BST on 8 November, USDT was trading at $1 up by 0.02% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.  

3 November 2022: Tether’s Lugano Plan B Forum ‘success’ with 2,000 attendees

The Tether (USDT) Lugano Plan B Forum has been labelled a “massive success” after it attracted just under 2,000 attendees.

Lugano is a city in southern Switzerland. The Lugano Plan B Forum ran from 28-29 October 2022.

It was announced at the forum that El Salvador and the city of Lugano signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on economic cooperation.

In September 2021, El Salvador became the first nation in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender.

In March 2022, Lugano announced plans to make BTC, USDT and its own LVGA crypto token legal tender in the city.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether, said: “To say the first ever Plan B Forum was just successful would be a huge understatement. For the first time, leaders and believers of financial freedom, innovation, and economic inclusivity descended upon the great city of Lugano to exchange ideas and hear from industry leaders and speakers on why the adoption of cryptocurrency is so important.

“I would like to extend a humble thank you to the sponsors, the media partners, the staff and volunteers, the speakers, and the great city of Lugano for everything they have done over the past months and this weekend to make the Plan B Forum a reality. Finally, I want to thank everyone who attended our history-making event in Lugano. I can’t wait to get started planning for next year’s Plan B Forum.”

As of 08:50 BST on 3 November, USDT was trading at $1 up by 0.01% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.  

2 November 2022: Venezuela is stablecoin oriented, with Tether sandwiches on offer

Tether (USDT) is now so popular in Venezuela that  its citizens can buy a Tether sandwich, as Venezuelans this year received $37.4bn in cryptocurrency, up 32% on 2021.

Much of this was stablecoin-related, with more than a third of of all small retail transaction volume in Venezuela made up of stablecoin trades, more than any other country in Latin America, according to Chainalysis, the blockchain data platform.

The trend is driven by the depreciation in the country’s national currency, the Bolivar, which has dived by more than 100,000% from December 2014 to September 2022.

A Tether sandwich is square bread, lettuce, tomato, avocado, tuna with cream cheese, tartar sauce and with potatoes. It is on sale at the Bitcoin Cafe in Caracas for $6.50.

As of 07:58 BST on 2 November, USDT was trading at $1, up by 0.01% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap.  

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27 October 2022: Tether places more focus on Lugano

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether (USDT) and the crypto exchange Bitfinex has been retweeting the excitement expressed towards the Lugano Plan B Forum.

Stacy Herbert, general partner of El Zonte Capital, which was founded in El Salvador and focuses on investing in start-ups in the crypto world said via Twitter that “Salvadoran money is accepted everywhere in Lugano”.  

Herbert was referring to El Salvador making Bitcoin (BTC) legal tender in the country in September 2021.

Lugano, a city in southern Switzerland, announced plans to make BTC, USDT and its own LVGA crypto token legal tender in the city in March 2022.

This means the residents of Lugano can pay taxes and public service fees in BTC and USDT.

Other BTC enthusiast have been showing support for the Forum via Twitter such as John Carvalho, CEO of Synonyn, a company focused on accelerating the use of BTC who tweeted a picture of Lugano in preparation for the Forum.   

The Lugano Plan B Forum will run from 28-29 October 2022.

As of 08:45 BST on 27 October, USDT was trading at $1, up by 0% compared to the previous day, according to CoinMarketCap, an ideal price for a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar.

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21 October 2022: Tether to be made available in Brazilian ATMs

Tether (USDT) tokens are to be made available in more than 24,000 Brazilian ATMs.

From 3 November, Brazilians will be able to access the stablecoin via SmartPay ATMs.

Currenlty 34 million adults in Brazil, out of a total population of 217 million, are unbanked.

Tether’s chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino,  said: “The difficulties and limitations imposed by inflation and a less-than-inclusive financial system has excluded many of Brazil’s citizens from being able to participate in the country's growing economy.

“Adding tether tokens to ATMs across Brazil provides the opportunity to include more people in the financial system. This will bring major changes not only to the payments industry but to the entire Brazilian financial ecosystem.”

Inflation in Brazil is currently running at 9.4%.

11 October 2022: Record number of Brazilians using Tether to move cryptos

A record number of Brazilian companies which owned cryptocurrencies in August 2022 had significant volumes moved using Tether (USDT).

This is according to the Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB), the bureau which has the role of administrating tax collection and the customs of Brazil.  

In August, more than $1.4bn (£1.2bn) in cryptocurrencies were moved in Brazil using USDT across almost 80,000 operations, with an average amount of almost $18,000 per transaction.

10 October 2022: Tether celebrates its eighth birthday

Tether (USDT) celebrated its eighth birthday last week, 6 October, after originally being launched in 2014.    

The stablecoin detailed its journey in a release headlined “Eight years of stability and innovation”. The organisation said it “invented the very idea of a stablecoin eight years ago. In less than a decade, stablecoins went from a proof of concept to over $100 billion of issued assets, which are used and circulated at high volumes.”

After eight years the original stablecoin has a market capitalisation of $68bn (£61bn), which it compared to Amazon’s valuation after eight years of $20bn.    

Tether also said it had become a tool for “financial freedom” in Turkey, Myanmar and Argentina.

3 October 2022: Tether brings ‘financial inclusion’ to Turkey

Tether (USDT) is bringing "financial inclusion" to Turkey, according to Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer (CTO) of the stablecoin and the crypto exchange Bitfinex.

Ardoino made the claim after someone took a picture of a Tether store in Istanbul via Twitter.

27 September 2022: Tether’s CTO to speak at Adopting Bitcoin conference in El Salvador

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether (USDT) and the crypto exchange Bitfinex will be speaking at the Adopting Bitcoin conference in El Salvador.

The conference runs between 15 and 17 November 2022 with all of the profits of the conference going to Bitcoin (BTC) education in El Salvador.   

In September 2021, El Salvador made history by becoming the first nation in the world to adopt BTC as legal tender.

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26 September 2022: Tether launches on Polkadot

The stablecoin Tether (USDT) has launched on the decentralised, open-source blockchain platform Polkadot.  

Tether described the move as “another milestone” for the stablecoin as it continued to “increase its presence in decentralised ecosystems”.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer (CTO) at Tether said: “We’re delighted to launch USDT on Polkadot, offering its community access to the most liquid, stable, and trusted stablecoin in the digital token space.

“Polkadot is on a trajectory of growth and evolution this year and we believe Tether’s addition will be essential in helping it continue to thrive.”

23 September 2022: Tether’s Lugano Plan B Forum to give away 1 Bitcoin to ticket holders

The Tether (USDT) Lugano Plan B Forum will be giving away one Bitcoin (BTC) to three ticket holders.  

Bitcoin blocks will be used to select the three winners and only ticket holders who check in to the Plan B Forum will be eligible to receive a share of the Bitcoin ballot prize. The one Bitcoin prize will be split between the three winners.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer (CTO) of Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex said: “We are excited to introduce yet another way for attendees to experience the power and potential of Bitcoin while creating an engaging moment during the conference.

“By giving away one Bitcoin we hope to inspire more people to join the digital economy. Introduction and education are key pillars of participation, and we believe that we can be a catalyst for the long term and mainstream adoption for cryptocurrency.”

Lugano, a city in southern Switzerland, announced plans to make BTC, USDT and its own LVGA crypto token legal tender in the city in March 2022.

The Lugano Plan B Forum will run from 28-29 October 2022.

14 September 2022: Tether launches on the NEAR Network

Tether (USDT) has launched its stablecoin tokens on the NEAR Network.  

The stablecoin said: “NEAR is a smart contract-capable blockchain designed to provide the ideal environment for decentralised applications (dapps).”

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Tether, said: “We’re excited to launch USDT on NEAR, offering its community access to the first, most stable, and trusted stablecoin in the digital token space. The NEAR ecosystem has witnessed historic growth this year and we believe Tether will be essential in helping it continue to thrive.”

Marieke Flament, CEO of the NEAR Foundation, said: “We champion initiatives that can bring greater stability to the decentralised finance (DeFi) ecosystem and help us advance the mass adoption of Web 3.0. We look forward to seeing what Tether will achieve with the launch of USDT on NEAR Network and the vital role it will play in shaping the future of finance and the digital economy.”

7 September 2022: Tether claims to keep the US dollar ‘strong’

The stablecoin Tether (USDT) has claimed it is helping keep the US dollar “strong”.

The stablecoin stated that the US dollar was “the most sought-after fiat currency in the world” and the USDT stablecoin creates a way for more people to have access to it, as some people still find it “challenging” to hold or acquire US dollars in numerous countries outside the US.

The coin’s organisation said: “Tether has not only created a way for people to access dollars as a tool for financial freedom, it has created a system that strengthens the US dollar. Previously, the global demand for dollars could only be satisfied with actual US dollars.”

Despite the crypto industry often being focused on a post-fiat financial world, Tether said: “it misses the fact that billions of people around the world simply want easy access to dollars.”

In May 2022, Tether became a buyer of US Treasuries, and accounted for 2% of the total Treasuries market ,which exceeded the stake held by Berkshire Hathaway, the American multinational conglomerate holding company led by Warren Buffett, at the time. 

Tether did not disclose how much of the US Treasuries it accounts for now, but said it still “represents a significant buyer in the US Treasuries market”.

5 September 2022: Saylor: everyone wants Lightning app giving exposure to Tether

Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy said the app that all people on the planet want is a Lightning wallet, which would give them exposure to Tether (USDT).

The Lightning wallet has a checking (current) account and savings account in it. Saylor, speaking at the Baltic Honeybadger 2022, a European Bitcoin conference, said the checking account would be in Tether and the savings account in Bitcoin (BTC).

MicroStrategy is an analytics platform and claims to be the largest public holder of BTC. According to Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, the Lightning app is designed to make BTC transactions as fast and cheap as possible. It was designed by Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja and launched in 2017.

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2 September 2022: BitMEX offers chance of winning 100 USDT to 10 people

BitMEX, a crypto derivatives exchange, is giving away 100 USDT to 10 separate winners to celebrate the arrival of multi-network support for Tether on its network.

In order to win the stablecoin prize, you must follow BitMEX on Twitter, retweet the post and tag three friends and share your favourite TRON DAO meme.  

This competition ends in one week and it started today (2 September 2022).

According to TRON DAO, its mission is to accelerate the decentralisation of the internet with blockchain technology and decentralised applications (DApps). In addition, as of 2021, TRON hosts the largest circulating supply of stablecoins across the globe.

1 September 2022: Number of Tether holders on TRON triples in a year

Justin Sun, the founder of decentralised blockchain TRON (TRX), has announced that the number of people holding Tether (USDT) on the platform has tripled over the past year.  

Sun said that a year ago the amount of USDT holders on TRON was 5,687,621, but “now the number is 15,371,854” – representing a three times increase “in one year”.

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According to TRON, its mission is to accelerate the decentralisation of the internet with blockchain technology and decentralised applications (DApps). In addition, as of 2021, TRON hosts the largest circulating supply of stablecoins across the globe.

30 August 2022: Tether’s Keet to launch messenger functionality

The Tether (USDT) video chat app Keet is launching a new messenger functionality on 5 September 2022.  

Keet said via Twitter: “Instead of calling with peers, you can start text group chats with your peers.”

26 August 2022: Assange’s wife and brother to speak at Tether’s Lugano Plan B Forum

The wife and brother of Julian Assange,  founder of Wikileaks, have been announced as speakers at Tether’s Lugano Plan B Forum.

Assange founded WikiLeaks in 2006, which published news leaks and classified media documents. The US is trying to extradite him to the states so he can face trial for publishing thousands of classified documents. Assange is currently being held in Britains Belmarsh prison.

Stella Assange and Gabriel Shipton will both speak at the forum.

Lugano, a city in southern Switzerland, announced plans to make Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and its own LVGA crypto token legal tender in the city in March 2022.

The Lugano Plan B Forum will run from 28 to 29 October 2022.

17 August 2022: Tether claims it invented concept of stablecoin

Tether (USDT) has claimed to have invented the concept of a stablecoin, declaring that its success brought “copycats”.

In a blog post Tether outlined how competitors have developed their own stablecoins using Tether’s model, which is a full reserve stablecoin, as opposed to algorithmic stablecoins such as TerraUSD (UST) “which have almost failed” due to its collapse and depegging in May 2022.

When comparing Tether and USD Coin (USDC), another prominent stablecoin, Tether said USDC’s “daily trading volume is roughly 10x lower than USDT’s on average”. Additionally, USDT’s “markets are significantly more liquid and widely traded”.

16 August 2022: Tether’s Keet loves Brazil and Portugal

The Tether video chat app Keet has declared its love for Brazil and Portugal.

This is not the first time Keet has stated it loves a country as in early August, it tweeted its love for El Salvador.

Keet is a free video calling app that utilises a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection to facilitate real-time video calls.

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15 August 2022: Szabo to speak at Tether’s Lugano Plan B Forum

Nick Szabo, the American computer scientist and crypto pioneer, has been announced as a speaker at the Lugano Plan B Forum.

Lugano, a city in southern Switzerland, announced plans to make Bitcoin (BTC), Tether (USDT) and its own LVGA crypto token legal tender in the city in March 2022. This news was revealed at the Plan B talk on 3 March, with Michele Foletti, mayor of Lugano, Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer (CTO) of Tether, and Pietro Poretti, director of Lugano’s Economic Development Division all in attendance.

It means the residents of Lugano can pay taxes and public service fees in BTC and USDT.

The Lugano Plan B Forum will run from 28-29 October 2022.

9 August 2022: Argentinians declare their love for Tether

Argentinians have declared their love for the cryptocurrency Tether, saying it has solved problems for them in their country.

Tether’s official Twitter account retweeted a post by Leones de BFX, part of the crypto exchange Bitfinex’s family, which showed a video clip of people from Argentina explaining how Tether has benefitted their lives.

In the video Claudia Nancufil explained “Tether is the most used cryptocurrency in Argentina” and that she has been receiving her salary in Tether since 2019.  

Matias Fernandez said: “We conduct daily transactions in USDT. It’s our main means of payment.” Many of his clients call Tether the digital dollar, Fernandez said.

Ignacio Gutierrez Zaldivar said: “Stablecoins, especially USDT served us tremendously in providing an instant resolution tool.”

Tether in its tweet stated it loves Argentina.

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5 August 2022: Tether’s Keet loves El Salvador 

The Tether video chat app Keet has announced its love for El Salvador.

In September 2021, El Salvador made history by becoming the first nation in the world to adopt Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer (CTO) of Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex, tweeted out an image of the Keet logo, a heart and the flag of El Salvador.

Keet is a free video calling app that utilises a peer-to-peer (P2P) connection to facilitate real-time video calls.

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3 August 2022: Tether to support ETH 2.0 upgrade

Tether has announed that it plans to offer “seamless” support to the ETH 2.0 upgrade.

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer (CTO) of Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex, tweeted that “support of ETH 2.0 will be seamless” and then followed this up and said the stablecoin plans to support ETH 2.0.

The ETH 2.0 Merge has been scheduled to take place on 19 September by Ethereum Foundation developer Tim Beiko.

26 July 2022: Tether launches video chat app Keet

Tether, the crypto exchange Bitfinex, and Hypercore, a distribution systems developer, have announced the launch of the video chat app Keet.

Keet is the first app built on Holepunch, a platform for building Web 3.0 applications, also launched by Tether, Bitfinex and Hypercore.  

Keet is a free video calling app that utilises P2P connection to facilitate real-time video calls. Tether said that the difference between Keet and other video chat apps which use cloud-based software or outside servers, is that Keet video chats take place without a central server or company operating network.   

Paolo Ardoino chief technology officer of Tether and Bitfinex and chief strategy officer of Holepunch said: “Web1 was the original form of the internet. It was designed to distribute information and knowledge on a global scale, but it didn’t come without issues. Web2 improved upon many of the user experience roadblocks of Web1. Centred around social media, it made content creation, sharing and consumption seamless but not without one major flaw. Web2 requires users to give up control of their data, which has led to the rise of monopolies and growing privacy concerns.

“That is why Tether and Bitfinex chose to participate in the development of Holepunch and Keet. It believes that freedom of choice, communication and finances are the lifeblood of the future, and anything that will enhance those freedoms is worth amplifying.”

—

25 July 2022: Tether’s Paolo Ardoino says crypto fundraising easier now

Raising funds for a crypto project has become much easier according to a comment by Tether chief Paolo Ardoino on Twitter.

The stablecoin’s chief technology officer (CTO), who is also CTO of crypto exchange Bitfinex, said “raising $1m would take a lot of effort, blood, due diligence and precise vision” 12 years ago.

However, raising funds now, particularly for crypto projects, has become a much simpler process.

22 July 2022: Tether is now live on the Tezos blockchain

Tether is now officially live on the Tezos (XTZ) blockchain, and the crypto exchange Bitfinex is allowing users to withdraw and deposit USDT on its platform using the Tezos transport layer.

Bitfinex said: “The integration of USDT onto the Tezos Network will reduce confirmation times, make payments faster and lower transaction costs.”

21 July 2022: Bitcoin balances fall as jittery investors switch to stablecoins

Bitcoin (BTC) balances in wallets are down by 30% since the start of 2022, while holdings in stablecoins such as Tether are up by 40%, as investors diversify their portfolios under the pressure of market volatility, according to Mercuryo, a global payment services company.

Mercuryo, which is developing infrastructures for businesses looking to process cryptocurrency transactions, believes this could show that “retailer investors are showing some resilience and choosing to sell into stablecoins such as USDT, whilst waiting to re-enter the market.”

Petr Kozyakov, CEO of Mercuryo, said: “This is clear evidence that crypto holders are not deserting in droves. Quite the opposite: despite recent volatility, the appetite for crypto remains. There is no doubt that recent events have exposed fundamentally flawed crypto projects and that things need to change to avoid this happening again.

“However, it has also highlighted that this fast-paced and rapidly evolving ecosystem cannot be defined by any one currency or company. It is evident in the growth we’ve seen in balance of stablecoins among our users. This indicates faith that long term, consumers believe the market will recover, and go on to flourish.”

19 July 2022: Demand for selling Tether in Dubai is up, says Coinsfera

Crypto exchange Coinsfera has said that due to the recent market volatility, the demand for selling Tether in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has increased.

Coinsfera, which provides cryptocurrencies in an over-the-counter operation, has four physical locations – Dubai, Istanbul, London and Kosovo.  

18 July 2022: Bitfinex donates $1.4m in BTC and Tether to El Salvador

The cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex has donated 36 Bitcoin (BTC), worth just under $800,000 (£665,000) and $600,000 (£500,000) in Tether to small businesses in El Salvador.

The company said the donations were part of its “continued support for the country”.

The funds are being sent to towns and cities where street gangs have been accused of extorting money from businesses. El Salvador made BTC legal tender in September 2021.  

Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer at Bitfinex said: “This funding demonstrates in real time Bitcoin’s potential to bring prosperity and economic freedom. By providing Bitcoin and Tether to local communities in El Salvador, we will provide vital support to small businesses while also countering the effects of gang violence that has swept across the country.”

14 July 2022: Tether now available on OKX Chain

Cryptocurrency and derivatives exchange OKX has announced that Tether is now available on OKX Chain (OKC).

As well as Tether’s stablecoin USDT, which is pegged to the dollar, the Euro-pegged stablecoin EURT and Tether Gold (XAUT), which is a digital token backed by physical gold, have also come to OKC.    

According to OKX this makes OKC “the 12th public chain in the world on which Tether, one of the world’s largest stablecoins by market cap, is listed”.

7 July 2022: Tether brings US dollar to ‘highly inflationary’ countries

Saifedean Ammous, author of The Bitcoin Standard (Wiley, 2018), has said that Tether (USDT) is “essentially bringing the dollar to people in non-dollar countries” – particularly nations that have “highly inflationary currencies”.

Ammous made the comments while speaking to Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether and digital asset trading platform Bitfinex, during his podcast, The Bitcoin Standard Podcast.

The author went on to say that Tether provided a “more efficient way of delivering US dollars to people all over the world than 1940s central banking technology, which is the other way they get it.”

20 June 2022: Tether reports DDoS attack as the exodus from USDT continues

The issuer of the USDT stablecoin, Tether, suffered a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack at the weekend – and was sent a ransom demand to stop more from happening, according to Tether’s chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino.  

According to Ardoino, the Tether website was bombarded with eight million requests in five minutes on Saturday 18 June.

“This morning Tether received a ransom request to avoid mass DDoSes. They tried already once. On a normal day we have around 2,000 requests every five minutes. The attack brought us to eight million requests every five mintues.” Ardoino added that the “attack is now mitigated”. 

—

In addition, the stablecoin has reported a $4bn withdrawals over the past seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data, with the market cap of the USDT stablecoin falling to $67.8bn.

Tether (USDT) was trading at $0.9987. USDT trading volume was down around 16% at $56bn.

Prices are correct as of 08:00 BST (UTC +1).

16 June 2022: USDT market cap falls below $70bn as Tether liquidates Celsius

Withdrawals continue to hit the most popular stablecoin, Tether (USDT), despite the company claiming to have “liquidated Celsius position with no losses to Tether”.

“Tether has currently zero exposure to Celsius apart from a small investment made out of Tether equity in the company,” said developers of the USDT stablecoin, whose market capitalisation fell to $69.9bn after withdrawal of approximately $1bn was witnessed over the past 24 hours.

In a note to investors that condemned “false rumours” about presumed Asian commercial papers within the Tether portfolio, Tether also said that its current portfolio of commercial paper has been reduced to $11bn, from $20bn at the end of Q1 2022. They claimed it would be $8.4bn by the end of June 2022.

“It will gradually decrease to zero without any incurrences of losses. All commercial papers are expiring and will be rolled into US Treasuries with a short maturity,” they said.

According to CoinMarketCap, Tether (USDT) was trading at $0.999 while trading volume was $83.2bn up by 23.1% over the past 24 hours.

All values are correct as of 8:00 BST (UTC+1).

15 June 2022: Investors seek refuge from volatility through Tether

Investors in Ethereum (ETH) are buying stablecoins, in particular Tether (USDT), to seek a refuge from market volatility risks, according to Glassnode, the crypto market data and intelligence platform.

Glassnode data shows that despite some withdrawals, which brought the USDT market cap to around $70.7bn, Tether recorded a $1.1bn inflow, more or less corresponding to Ether outflows.

The data also showed that the number of ETH addresses in loss, on a seven-day moving average, just reached an all-time-high of 38 million, while Ether dropped to the $1,100 level, recording a 38% loss over the past week, according to CoinMarketCap.

Tether (USDT) is changing hands at $0.9987, while USDT trading volume was at $67.5bn, down by 40%, CoinMarketCap said.

Values are correct as of 08:15 BST (UTC+1 on 15 June).

14 June 2022: Celsius: Tether assures market as USDT pays $1bn withdrawals

Tether (USDT) has paid out around $1bn withdrawals over the past 24 hours as the Celsius (CEL) crisis unrolls, and despite Tether’s developers assuring investors after the DeFi lending giant halted withdrawals.

“Tether lending activity with Celsius, as with any other borrower, has always been overcollateralized and has no impact on our reserves,” Tether developers said in a note to USDT investors.

“The recent events impacting the Celsius lending platform and its native token CEL are an unfortunate result of market volatility and extreme market conditions,” they added.

“While Tether’s investment portfolio does include an investment in the company, representing a minimal part of our shareholders' equity, there is no correlation between this investment and our own reserves or stability.” 

On the crypto market, according to CoinMarketCap data, Tether (USDT) lost around $1bn in market capitalization over the past 24 hours. Early in the morning of J14 June, USDT’s market capilatisation was $71.5bn, while trading volume was 50% higher at $113.7bn.

The selling pressure caused the most popular stablecoin to de-peg from the US dollar to $0.9987.

All values are correct as of 7:45 BST (UTC+1).

31 May 2022: Tether capitalisation hits 2022 low as USDT launches on Polygon

Tether’s market capitalisation continues to decrease as Tether Operations Limited, the company issuing the USDT stablecoin, paid out a $700m withdrawal on Friday 27 May, bringing Tether's market cap to its lowest point in 2022, $72.5bn, according to CoinMarketCap data.

The move anticipated a report from the Financial Times claiming that the controversial stablecoin issuer Tether has relied on a bank in the Bahamas to store some of its reserves.

The company also recently launched its USDT stablecoin on Polygon, the popular “layer twoÆ scaling solution running on the Ethereum blockchain and supporting several stablecoins.

Tether’s developers said: “Tether is set to play an essential role in supporting Polygon’s DeFi ecosystem. It will alleviate the potential adverse effects associated with market volatility by providing a stable currency for investors to generate yield, and move in and out of the network,”

According to CoinMarketCap, Tether (USDT) is changing hands at $0.9994. USDT market cap was $72.5bn while trading volume was at $66.5bn, 55% higher over the past 24 hours.

Values are correct as of 8:00 BST (UTC+1).

27 May 2022: MXNT: Tether launches stablecoin pegged to the Mexican peso

Tether Operations Limited launched a new Tether stablecoin (MXNT) pegged on a one-to-one basis to the Mexican peso (MXN) to dive into the multibillion-dollar Latin American remittances market.

MXNT, currently running on Ethereum, Tron, and Polygon blockchains, will join the US dollar-pegged USDT, alongside other fiat-currency pegged tokens Tether has in the market, such as the euro-pegged EURT, and the offshore Chinese yuan-pegged CNHT.

Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether, said: “We have seen a rise in cryptocurrency usage in Latin America over the last year that has made it apparent that we need to expand our offerings.

“Introducing a peso-pegged stablecoin will provide a store of value for those in the emerging markets and Mexico in particular. MXNT can minimize volatility for those looking to convert their assets and investments from fiat to digital currencies.” 

According to data from the cryptocurrency payments company Triple A, 40% of Mexican companies were looking to adopt blockchain and cryptocurrencies but only 2.5% of Mexicans owned cryptos in 2021.

Tether (USDT), which seems to re-peg gradually after the UST crash saw Tether to pay out around $10bn in withdrawals, is changing hands at $0.9991. USDT’s market cap was $73.2bn while trading volume was at $78.3bn higher by 56% over the past 24 hours.

On the ForEx, the pair USD/MXN is trading at 19.7450, almost flat over the past 24 hours.

Values are correct as of 08:00 BST (UTC+1).

23 May 2022: Withdrawals from Tether continue as digital assets remain in reserves 

Tether (USDT) issuer, Tether Holdings, has paid out $1bn in withdrawals since its latest independent accountant’s report, with withdrawals amounting to $10bn since the beginning of the crypto turmoil sparked by the depegging of terraUSD (UST).

The accountant’s report, which examines Tether’s reserves for the period up to 31 March 2022, showed that digital assets in Tether’s reserves remained stable over first quarter of 2022. Other investments, including digital tokens, amounted to $4.9bn, compared with a little more than $5bn for period ending 31 December 2021.

In a statement, Tether said it has reduced its commercial paper holdings by around 17% to $20.1bn for Q1 2022 – and has continued this with a further 20% reduction since 1 April, which will be reflected in its report for the second quarter of 2022. Tether’s reserves also witnessed an overall increase in US treasury bills as collateral – up more than 13% to $39.2bn for Q1 2022 from $35.4bn for the previous quarter.

According to CoinMarketCap, Tether’s market cap fell by $1bn after the publication of the latest accountant’s report last week. Since the beginning of May, its market cap fell by $10bn to $73.2bn, its market cap as of 23 May. USDT was changing hands at $0.9992 while trading volume was at $46.8bn, up by 27% over the past 24 hours.

Values are correct as of 11:00 BST (UTC +1).

20 May 2022: Tether cuts USDT holdings in commercial securities by 17%

The USDT stablecoin issuer, Tether Holdings Limited, reduced its commercial paper holdings in Q1 2022 by 17% to $20.1bn from $24.2bn over the prior quarter, the company said, adding that it intends to reduce the amount of collateral in these assets by a further 20% in Q2 2022

An audit report from the accounting firm MHA Cayman said the company also witnessed a 13% increase in tgroup investments in money market funds and US treasury bills , up to $39.2bn from $34.5bn.

Secured loans have gone down by $1bn, while the average rating of commercial paper and certificates of deposit went up from A-2 to A-1. Other investments, including digital assets, amounted to $4.96bn. Consolidated total assets came to to $82.4bn, almost equaling liabilities.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CTO, said: “This past week is a clear example of the strength and resilience of Tether. Tether has maintained its stability through multiple black swan events and highly volatile market conditions and, even in its darkest days, Tether has never once failed to honour a redemption request from any of its verified customers.”

According to CoinMarketCap, Tether (USDT) was changing hands at 9:30 BST (UTC +1) at $0.9992, having stayed almost flat over the past 24 hours. USDT’s market cap was $74.1bn, while trading volume was $60.35bn up by 2.15% over the previous 24 hours.

19 May 2022: Stablecoin Tether loses $9bn capitalization in a week  

Tether (USDT), the most popular stablecoin, lost $9bn of capitalisation in a week while slightly de-pegging from the $1 level, according to CoinMarketCap data.

On 18 May 2022, USDT’s market capitalisation, still the largest for any stablecoin, fell to $74.1bn from the $83bn witnessed on 11 May 2022, after the catastrophic collapse of TerraUSD (UST), which brought the value of the algorithmic stablecoin close to zero and triggered turmoil in the crypto market.

“The implosion of Tether is closer than ever”, according to analysts at Crypto Whale, known for criticizing Tether in the past.

Tether developers recently claimed that there has been some selling pressure on USDT on the market, after the UST crash.

They wrote: “Since 2015, Tether has never failed to process a redemption request for USDT at a value of $1 per USDT token. On the open market, USDT has almost never deviated from that price as well, although there are a handful of short-lived instances where it did deviate on exchanges like Binance.”

As of 8:30 BST (UTC+1,) on 19 May, USDT was trading at $0.9989 while the trading volume was at $58.3m, 6.6% higher over the previous 24 hours.

With additional reporting by Raffaele Redi.

Further reading

Tether price prediction: USDT stablecoin assets drop

What is Tether (USDT): Leading the pack, despite increased competition